Chapter 56: What Are You Doing Blocking My Little Girl?

Lu Qingyue was shoved, staggering forward, and her temper flared instantly. She spun around, only to find it was still the same group of girls as before.

The tallest of them stood at the front, her lips thin, and the corners of her eyes sharply angled with anger, giving off an impression of coldness and difficulty.

“What’s your problem? Coveting someone else’s husband, are you?”

It took Lu Qingyue a few seconds to realize they’d overheard her and misunderstood the conversation. She rolled her eyes in exasperation and retorted, her tone sour,

“Wow! You must be a master of mishearing!”

Beside the tall girl was a freckled girl who, seeing Lu Qingyue refuse to admit anything, immediately raised her voice in a menacing manner,

“You said it yourself—‘someone else’s husband’—did you think we weren’t listening?”

The tall girl snorted coldly, her voice dripping with sarcasm,

“When Xiao Qingrong was chasing after you, you acted all innocent, but now it turns out you’re secretly after other men!”

Lu Qingyue and her two friends listened, baffled, until they heard the name Xiao Qingrong and began to piece things together.

Hu Qiuyue, who knew many people and kept up with school gossip, sized up the tall girl and finally remembered who she was. She quickly leaned in to whisper in Lu Qingyue’s ear,

“I think she’s Xiao Qingrong’s girlfriend…”

Lu Qingyue raised her eyebrows, thinking, why does this person keep haunting me? She’d finally shaken off Xiao Qingrong, and now his girlfriend had come looking for trouble.

She lifted her chin, refusing to back down, and shot back,

“Who am I after? Xiao Qingrong? Which one of you saw me coveting him? Honestly, you talk a big game with nothing to back it up.”

The three girls’ eyes widened in shock. The one with wavy hair, who hadn’t spoken yet, let out a laugh of anger and stepped forward, demanding,

“Who are you calling a dog?”

Lu Qingyue replied, “I never name names when I insult people. If you feel guilty, that’s on you.”

The three girls exchanged confused glances. The tall girl, boiling with frustration, forgot they were still on school grounds and lunged at Lu Qingyue, grabbing her collar and raising her hand to slap her,

“Filthy thing! So you were insulting me!”

As soon as she attacked, Hu Qiuyue and Zhou Tingting rushed forward, grabbing her hand to push her away. In an instant, six people were tangled in a scuffle at the school gate, drawing a crowd of onlookers—though no one dared intervene.

The school bell for dismissal had reached its final notes, and the campus had quieted down.

Suddenly, a clear, cold voice rang out,

“Lu Diandian.”

Lu Qingyue, who’d already gained the upper hand in the fight, was gripping her opponent’s collar with one hand and, with a clenched fist, was about to strike her face. Hearing the familiar voice, she casually smoothed her hair and turned, adopting a meek and aggrieved expression.

With Cheng Xingye’s arrival, she couldn’t continue teaching her opponent a lesson. Whether or not she could win was beside the point—what mattered was not leaving Cheng Xingye with a violent impression.

Lu Qingyue reluctantly let go, moving begrudgingly to Cheng Xingye’s side and immediately complaining,

“Brother Xingye, they blocked me and wouldn’t let me leave!”

All eyes turned to Cheng Xingye. Some recognized him as their chief instructor during military training and gasped, glancing at Lu Qingyue in surprise, as if they hadn’t expected anyone at their school to be so familiar and intimate with the chief instructor.

Cheng Xingye pulled her to his side, scanning her up and down to ensure she wasn’t hurt before lazily raising his head. His cold voice dragged out as he asked,

“What do you want with my girl?”

The three girls, seeing Lu Qingyue had found someone to support her, immediately lost their nerve. Freckles and wavy hair stayed silent, leaving only the tall girl, who glared at Lu Qingyue and responded stubbornly,

“She’s trying to steal my boyfriend!”

At her words, Lu Qingyue caught Cheng Xingye’s eyebrow arching ever so slightly and immediately retorted,

“Nonsense! You can insult my character, but you can’t insult my taste!”

Her boyfriend was hardly worth mentioning—how could he compare to Cheng Xingye? Even if he were offered to her, she wouldn’t want him!

Zhou Tingting quietly chimed in,

“My Yue has never been interested in your boyfriend; he’s always been the one pestering her.”

The tall girl, however, was convinced Lu Qingyue was after Xiao Qingrong. After all, Xiao Qingrong was a notable figure at school, known throughout the junior year.

She, burning with anger, snapped,

“I heard it with my own ears! She said ‘someone else’s husband’—who would covet another’s husband unless they had intentions?”

Cheng Xingye paused, then glanced at the little troublemaker beside him.

Lu Qingyue puffed out her cheeks defiantly,

“I said ‘someone else’s husband,’ but I wasn’t referring to yours. Though if you keep acting so recklessly, soon enough he’ll be someone else’s husband…”

The tall girl’s anger exploded, and she was about to lunge at Lu Qingyue again. But as soon as she met Cheng Xingye’s icy gaze, a chill ran down her spine; she froze, struggling to keep her composure under his intimidating presence.

Cheng Xingye pressed his fingers to his temple, clearly troubled.

In truth, he felt Lu Qingyue’s words weren’t unreasonable. But her sharp tongue could easily offend people, and who knew if they’d cause trouble for her later at school.

Still, his little troublemaker would have to be pampered, even if it meant kneeling.

He sighed silently, his gaze sweeping over the three girls opposite, focusing on the name tags on their uniforms. He read out, syllable by syllable,

“Junior Year, Class 2: You Ying, Sun Xiuhui, Yu Xiaoqing.”

You Ying, Sun Xiuhui, Yu Xiaoqing: “???”

You Ying was the first to react, immediately covering her name tag and loudly asking,

“What are you doing?”

Cheng Xingye lifted his gaze carelessly, chin raised toward them, his voice slow and deliberate,

“I’ve remembered your names.”

He withdrew his gaze, loosely wrapping his arm around Lu Qingyue to shield her, drawing out each word as he emphasized,

“From now on, if anything happens to my Diandian at school, you three are my prime suspects.”

You Ying and her friends were instantly bewildered.

Especially You Ying, who had only intended to intimidate Lu Qingyue and warn her away from her boyfriend. She hadn’t expected to provoke such a temperamental senior, who now remembered their names.

You Ying panicked, stammering in protest,

“Hey, are you being reasonable? We haven’t done anything to her!”

Cheng Xingye’s smile faded, his gaze cool as he replied,

“Do I look like someone who cares about reason?”

You Ying: "......." Was he actually proud of that?